glorify
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
to praise or honor someone or something very highly, especially in a religious way.
to bestow honor, praise, or admiration upon a deity or person; to exalt to a state of glory.
Simple“The ancient songs were written to glorify the king after his victory.”
In context“The cathedral was designed with soaring arches and stained glass specifically to glorify the divine through architectural grandeur.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
to describe something bad or ordinary in a way that makes it seem exciting or noble.
to represent something in an admirable or idealistic way, often undeservedly; to romanticise a negative or mundane subject.
Simple“Many people argue that action movies glorify violence and crime.”
In context“Critics argued that the novel's prose served to glorify a period of history that was actually defined by extreme poverty and social injustice.”
Synonyms
From Middle English glorifien, from Anglo-Norman and Old French glorifier, from Late Latin glorificō, from Latin gloria + faciō (“to make”). Displaced native Middle English wuldrien (“to glorify”), from Old English wuldrian as well as Middle English stellifien (“to glorify, make stellar”), from Old French stellifier (Medieval Latin stellificāre); see stellify.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.